Running backs at center of tonight's Black and Blue Bowl

Speed is the common denominator ... and rushing yards ... and touchdowns.

Curtis Goins will be dressed in black tonight, and Jonathan Camacho will be in white. But both players may as well have Xs on their backs.

The two senior running backs lead their respective teams into tonight's Black and Blue Bowl. Goins and Vacaville High School will try to clinch their fourth straight outright Monticello Empire League championship, while Camacho and Will C. Wood will try to win a piece of their first-ever league crown, and beat the Bulldogs for the first time in 15 years.

"He's not the biggest guy in the world, but if you make a mistake and he gets in the open field, he's going to make you pay," Will C. Wood head coach Carlos Meraz said of Camacho, although he just as easily could have been talking about Goins. "He's got some speed, and that's nice to have."

Camacho has rushed for 800 yards and 12 touchdowns to lead the Wildcats.

Goins has gained 758 yards and scored eight times on the ground to pace the Bulldogs.

Goins may have the bigger resume ... he was the Monticello Empire League co-Player of the Year in 2011, and could be a favorite to win the honor by himself this season.

He also is the Bulldogs' leading receiver in yards (299) and TD catches (three), and is tied for the team lead in catches with 17.

Goins also returns punts and kickoffs, starts in the defensive backfield, and punts ... not that Vacaville punts very often (only about twice a game).

Meraz knows the Wildcats can't let Goins out of their sights. But he also knows they can't key on him to the exclusion of other players.

"He's their best player, but they do have other weapons. If you ignore other people, you're going to get burned," Meraz said of Goins, although he could have been talking about Camacho.

Wood's balance was evident last week. Camacho was forced to sit out the game after a scuffle at the end of Wood's 42-6 win over Rodriguez two weeks ago. But other Wildcats stepped up, including Kyle Canerday, who rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns in a crucial 41-22 win over Vintage.

"That killed me, missing that game ... but it was my fault," Camacho said. "But others guys played great. It was a good team win. That's what we want this week. It doesn't matter what I do, as long as the team wins."

Chances are, if the Wildcats pull the upset, Camacho will be involved somehow. Of course, the same could be said of Goins and the Bulldogs.

"They're a solid team. They make tackles," Goins said of the Wildcats. "We have to play all the way through, finish every run."

Camacho's probably thinking the same thing.

Wood has plenty of incentive, gunning for its first-ever MEL crown. But Vacaville also has a lot to play for.

"We don't want to share the title with anybody," Goins said. "It would be even worse if we had to share it with Wood."